can i mix a small percentage (10-20%) of UHT milk?

[fredthecat]

i live in a place where it is fairly difficult to get normal temp pasteurized milk that is usable for cheese. can i mix in any percentage of UHT milk to boost final cheese weight? if so what percent is safe?

i know this sounds petty, but i have to travel far to find usable pasteurized milk for 2 dollars/900ml, or pay about $3.50/900ml without travel.

[Al Lewis]

I don't believe that UHT milk will curdle but could be wrong.  That being the case you would be wasting your time and money by adding it.  It certainly shouldn't effect the other milk.  I, unknowingly, added UHT cream to a recipe once and it didn't hurt it.  You need one of the experts to chime in here, or at least someone with more knowledge on the subject than me.

[shaneb]

Would powdered milk be an option? I've read of it working for soft cheeses, haven't tried it myself though.

Shane

[awakephd]

As the others have said, the only way to know for sure is to give it a try. My own suspicion is that you could add 10% without problems, and maybe even 20%. Like many others, I have added UHT cream to a recipe to up the fat %, and it has worked fine. I'm guessing the "good milk" provides enough structure to help hold the proteins/fat of the UHT milk ... but I'm just guessing ...